


Big Eyes

by royaltimelady



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Basilisk(s), Bullying, Canonical Character Death, Chamber of Secrets, Character Death, Gap Filler, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-12 21:14:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11745309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/royaltimelady/pseuds/royaltimelady
Summary: Myrtle Warren has had a rough day, and she just wants to cry in peace. Unfortunately, she may never be at peace again.





	Big Eyes

I will admit that potions was far from my favorite class. The castle dungeons were damp and dark, too much so for my liking. It was only Professor Slughorn's cheery demeanor which had me returning. Unlike many other professors at Hogwarts, he seemed to thoroughly enjoy teaching, and he truly was a Potions Master. He always showed special attention to students who performed impressively in his class, which meant that I frequently received my fair share of praise, along with my fellow Ravenclaws.

It was on that day that we were studying Beautification Potions.

"Now class," he said, "who can tell me which of the ingredients for the beautification potion is most difficult to acquire?"

I raised my hand with enthusiasm, competing against a Gryffindor for the chance to answer.

Slughorn looked at me. "Yes, Miss Warren."

"Although unicorn hair is rare, fairy's wings are much more difficult to collect because fairies are vain and will fight against you removing their wings," I answered confidently.

"Very good. Ten points to Ravenclaw!" shouted Slughorn.

As I adjusted in my chair, attempting to hide my smug satisfaction, a voice cleared in the back of the room.

"It's a shame," she mocked, "that no amount of Beautification Potion could possibly hide Myrtle's hideous appearance."

The class roared with laughter. I looked back to Olive Hornby. She smiled at me with such malice, I could not hold it back. I began to sniffle and hid my face in my books. I hated when she could see me cry.

"Now class!" Slughorn pleaded, "Please calm down. Miss Hornby, please see me after class."

As my fellow students began to settle, we all heard the sound of commotion up the stairs. Everyone began packing up their books. As I rose and grabbed my belongings, Olive brushed past my shoulder.

She whispered, "Aww, what's the matter, Myrtle? Your glasses are fogging up!" She sniggered as she walked up to Professor Slughorn's desk.

I did not hesitate. I left the room briskly, brushing past every person in the stairwell. As I exited the dungeons, I made my way toward the girls' bathroom on the first floor.

Although it had a central location, it was never very crowded. Some people said that the arrangement of the sinks in the center of the room was highly irregular, and at times spooky. It was precisely because of these sinks that I loved hiding in there. If you went around to the other side of this central tower of sinks, nobody could see you wiping the tears from your eyes as you freshened up.

After a moment to pull myself together, I exited the bathroom. It was near lunchtime, so many students were fooling around. There was only a week or so left of the school year, and many classes had already completed their curriculum. I decided to go outside and enjoy the fresh summer air.

As I stepped outside, I was refreshed. The air was warm, and a breeze carried with it the smell of trees from the forest. As I wandered the grounds, I saw my fellow 3rd year student, Rubeus. Many people called him by his last name, Hagrid, but he and I had become close friends over the past year.

"Hi Rubeus," I said.

He looked up from what he was doing. "Why 'ello there, Myrtle," he replied.

He smiled and looked at the gnome he held in one hand. It struggled to escape from his half-giant grip.

"What are you doing?" I asked. He began to tickle the gnome, and it made the most peculiar sound. I suppose it could be called laugh, but to the untrained ear, it sounded more like a series of grunts interrupted by squeaky inhales. The peculiarity of the sound caused both Rubeus and I to laugh.

At that moment, we saw Professor Dumbledore walking our way. Rubeus held the gnome behind his back, which partially hid the remaining "giggles". Dumbledore floated towards us the way he always did.

"Now Hagrid, we're not getting into trouble now, are we?" he asked in an airy voice.

Rubeus looked down, ashamed, and placed the gnome down. The gnome ran toward the shrubs surrounding the castle, but only after sticking out its tongue and taunting Rubeus one last time.

Dumbledore nodded at me softly, "Miss Warren."

"Professor," I acknowledged in response. Dumbledore floated away once again, with steps so soft we could not hear them.

Rubeus and I sat in silence for twenty minutes after the professor had left. Ever since his father had died the previous year, I could tell Rubeus much preferred the company of magical creatures to humans, but still. Once in a while, he needed company. He and I watched how the gnomes in the shrubs chased each other, and how they taunted the grounds keeper who attempted to degnome the garden. He was an older gentleman, mere months from retiring, or worse. He could no longer maintain the facilities, but I suppose that was a good thing. It meant that I could hide away in the bathrooms when I shouldn't, or that Rubeus could sneak his creatures into the castle. I only knew that he had these creatures, yet I dared not ask what mysterious animals he cared for inside those walls.

When we realized that lunch had started, we went inside. He returned to the Gryffindor table, and I to the Ravenclaw. Across the Great Hall, I saw Olive Hornby at the Hufflepuff table, glancing at me with sneers and vicious side-eyes. I did my best to ignore her, but the laughter grew louder with each passing moment.

Finally, enough was enough. I grabbed my belongings and stormed from the Great Hall. As I approached the bathroom, I heard a crowd of footsteps behind me. I turned to find Olive, along with two of her fellow Hufflepuffs and four Slytherins.

"Myrtle!" Olive cried, "What's the matter? Glasses fogged up again?"

"Stop it, Olive," I replied.

"Stop it, Olive," she mocked. "For goodness sake, Myrtle. Exactly what are those ghastly things on your face? They make you look like an owl! A big, cry-baby owl!" The others all laughed, and I turned away, beginning to cry.

"Boo, hoo, hoo," they all mocked, imitating an owl.

Olive shouted again, "Myrtle the owl! Seems fitting. Those big glasses, the constant crying...all you're missing is the wings so you can fly!" The tears began to build with such intensity, that my glasses did indeed appear to fog up. I shook violently as I held back the urge to hex the horrible witch.

The others howled with laugher. "Oh look, I'm Myrtle! I've got four eyes, but they're still not enough for all the crying I do!" Olive continued, "Boo hoo hoo!"

Finally, I had enough. I turned and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. Their laughter faded away as they walked to their next class. I ran to a stall at the end of the bathroom, and began to weep. First I wept softly, then loudly, then I gasped for air between sobs. If Olive could have heard me, the ridicule would have continued indefinitely. I took off my glasses and wiped my face with my robes. Once one sleeve was drenched with tears, I switched to the other.

It is hard to tell exactly how long I had been crying in the bathroom. It felt like minutes, but the light from the windows moving across the floor indicated it had been much longer. I figured it must be close to dinnertime, but I did not care. I could not stand the idea of returning to the Great Hall and facing Olive again.

It was at that moment that I heard the door creak open. I held my breath, waiting for the sound of a sink running or a toilet flushing or some indication that I could continue my solitude. Instead, I heard a voice. I did not recognize it, but I knew immediately that it was a boy. I put my glasses back on.

"Who's out there?" I cried. "This is the girl's bathroom, go back and use your own! Go away!"

The boy began to speak, although I knew it wasn't to me. His voice created a series of hissing sounds which made no sense. There was a rumble, and I assumed it was one of Olive's friends playing a prank. Maybe he was setting up stink bombs, or cursing the restroom. I assumed the worst, but waited, hoping he would leave.

After a long moment of silence, I heard the hissing sound again. I finally opened the door to my stall.

"I said go away!" I shouted again.

As I looked down the bathroom hall toward the sinks, seconds stretched into minutes. It was hard to comprehend what I was looking at, as the rush of emotions was so instantaneous, I was hardly aware of what was happening until it was too late.

Staring back at me was a boy. Older than myself, but only by a few years. His hair was black, and his eyes were somehow darker. He held a black book in one hand. He smiled at me as I turned my attention to the large thing in front of me.

Eyes. That was all I could see. They were yellow and large, much larger than any creature I had ever seen before. I did not see what these eyes were attached to. I only knew that the sinks were gone and in their place was a creature with great big yellow eyes.

And that was when I felt the cold. It started in my own eyes, and began to rush through my whole head, down my body, until even the tips of my toes were freezing. In an instant, I was cold all the way through, and I didn't even had time to scream before I realized I was dead.


End file.
